Technical Writer

Dolores Mae Hammond Ali, a retired Social Security Administration technical writer, died of cancer Friday at her Randallstown home. She was 75. Born Dolores Mae Hammond in Baltimore, she was raised on Presstman Street in West Baltimore and was a graduate of Frederick Douglass High School. She attended Morgan State University and American University in Washington. Family members said she was among the first African-American employees hired at the Motor Vehicle Administration at its former Guilford Avenue headquarters.

Baltimore's continually blossoming theater scene has another bud. Cohesion Theatre Company , to be based in the Highlandtown Arts and Culture District, will debut in November with a production of Shakespeare's "Coriolanus. " (Given the arrival of Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, the Bard appears to be on a roll this season in Baltimore.) The Cohesion ensemble also plans to stage two Baltimore premieres: Tom Horan's "Thirteen Dead Husbands" in March, Anna Moench's "The Pillow Book" next summer.

Albert J. Schramm, a retired technical writer who had founded Albert Schramm & Associates, died Dec. 16 of cancer at Howard County General Hospital. The Howard County resident was 68. The son of the superintendent of the Baltimore Maritime Exchange and a PBX operator, Albert Joseph Schramm was born in Baltimore and raised in Edmondson Village. After graduating in 1961 from Mergenthaler Vocational High School, he enlisted in the Army, where he attained the rank of sergeant and served in intelligence in Germany.

Dolores Mae Hammond Ali, a retired Social Security Administration technical writer, died of cancer Friday at her Randallstown home. She was 75. Born Dolores Mae Hammond in Baltimore, she was raised on Presstman Street in West Baltimore and was a graduate of Frederick Douglass High School. She attended Morgan State University and American University in Washington. Family members said she was among the first African-American employees hired at the Motor Vehicle Administration at its former Guilford Avenue headquarters.

George Benedict Franz, a retired technical writer and an amateur photographer, died Monday of heart failure at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson. He was 86 and lived in Overlea. A technical writer for the old Glenn L. Martin Co. aircraft manufacturer, he joined the National Security Agency in 1964 and retired in 1979. His parents gave the Baltimore native his first Kodak Brownie camera when he was 10. He started taking pictures of his family, then photographed the Panama Canal when he served in the Army in the 1930s.

The memories are usually fuzzy, clouded by decades of other diversions or simply by the fact that, even back then, you'd already forgotten by the next day that you'd played. Once thought to be the beer pong of its time, foosball is now more hardcore than fraternity chic, more a competitive sport than simply a reason to hoist a few. For those who play the game professionally, it is their life, if not quite their livelihood. For those looking to rediscover the game, this is not your father's (or mother's)

Baltimore's continually blossoming theater scene has another bud. Cohesion Theatre Company , to be based in the Highlandtown Arts and Culture District, will debut in November with a production of Shakespeare's "Coriolanus. " (Given the arrival of Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, the Bard appears to be on a roll this season in Baltimore.) The Cohesion ensemble also plans to stage two Baltimore premieres: Tom Horan's "Thirteen Dead Husbands" in March, Anna Moench's "The Pillow Book" next summer.

About three weeks ago I phoned the suburban car dealer where I've bought a new model every four years, gave my name and asked the price of a new car. (I won't mention the dealer's name or brand.) The salesman pleasantly answered my question and we hung up. Considering sluggish auto business these days, I often wonder why he never called back to ask me to visit the showroom (I have all my repairs done there), show me the new model, take me for a ride, quote a trade-in, etc. (No sales calls from auto dealers now, please, although I welcome readers' comments about what seems to be widespread sales indifference these days.

On the steamy second floor of Adrian's Book Cafe, strangers fan themselves and talk aimlessly about the unexpected burst of summer heat. It's all small talk, subterfuge really, for what's truly on their minds. Those gathered here - from the clean-cut Catonsville couple to the ribald divorcee - harbor one unyielding thought: Sex.Before the night ends, they will speak of it. The secret urgencies and cries of love, rain-swept sheets and ripening fruit. The great beast within? It will come out, in conversation at least, and the unleashing will make them laugh and fidget, stare dreamily at the ceiling tile and applaud - out of relief and satisfaction - when it's over.

The Susquehanna Workforce Network will be hosting a defense, technology and intelligence job fair at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen Feb. 28, from 2 to 6 p.m. This is a major workforce recruitment activity for more than 30 companies looking to fill positions. A sample listing of the position openings include acquisition professionals, software and systems engineer, program analyst, product manager, bio-medical scientist, liaison officer, configuration managers, system integrator, software developer, multi-media assistants, project manager, proposal manager, acquisition analyst, electrical and mechanical engineers, business development, SharePoint developer, signal support, air traffic controller, Java developer, scientists and technical writer.

The memories are usually fuzzy, clouded by decades of other diversions or simply by the fact that, even back then, you'd already forgotten by the next day that you'd played. Once thought to be the beer pong of its time, foosball is now more hardcore than fraternity chic, more a competitive sport than simply a reason to hoist a few. For those who play the game professionally, it is their life, if not quite their livelihood. For those looking to rediscover the game, this is not your father's (or mother's)

Albert J. Schramm, a retired technical writer who had founded Albert Schramm & Associates, died Dec. 16 of cancer at Howard County General Hospital. The Howard County resident was 68. The son of the superintendent of the Baltimore Maritime Exchange and a PBX operator, Albert Joseph Schramm was born in Baltimore and raised in Edmondson Village. After graduating in 1961 from Mergenthaler Vocational High School, he enlisted in the Army, where he attained the rank of sergeant and served in intelligence in Germany.

George Benedict Franz, a retired technical writer and an amateur photographer, died Monday of heart failure at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson. He was 86 and lived in Overlea. A technical writer for the old Glenn L. Martin Co. aircraft manufacturer, he joined the National Security Agency in 1964 and retired in 1979. His parents gave the Baltimore native his first Kodak Brownie camera when he was 10. He started taking pictures of his family, then photographed the Panama Canal when he served in the Army in the 1930s.

About three weeks ago I phoned the suburban car dealer where I've bought a new model every four years, gave my name and asked the price of a new car. (I won't mention the dealer's name or brand.) The salesman pleasantly answered my question and we hung up. Considering sluggish auto business these days, I often wonder why he never called back to ask me to visit the showroom (I have all my repairs done there), show me the new model, take me for a ride, quote a trade-in, etc. (No sales calls from auto dealers now, please, although I welcome readers' comments about what seems to be widespread sales indifference these days.

William C. Askins, a retired technical illustrator and musician who played in area bands, died of a cerebral hemorrhage April 17 at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. The resident of the Oak Crest Village retirement community in Parkville was 92. A longtime resident of Anneslie, Mr. Askins was born in Baltimore and raised on Edmondson Avenue. He attended city public schools. He was hired by Bendix Radio in Towson in 1941, and retired in 1971 as manager of the illustration section of Bendix's Technical Publications Department.

Gilbert A. Sanford, a retired sociologist and researcher at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, died Aug. 12 at Bon Secours Hospital of complications after surgery. He was 82.A memorial service for Mr. Sanford, who lived at the Charlestown Retirement Community, will be conducted at 11 a.m. today at the Towson Unitarian Universalist Church, 1710 Dulaney Valley Road.He retired in 1978 after about five years at the Hopkins school.Moving to the Baltimore area in 1956, he worked briefly as a technical writer for what is now the Martin-Marietta Corp.